England Sponsor Raises Roof with New Cascada

Vauxhall will be promoting the benefits of its new full-size convertible model, the Cascada, in today’s rearranged World Cup qualifying fixture between Poland and England.

The England lead sponsor is using its LED screen advertising to showcase the fact that the Cascada, which is set to become Vauxhall’s new premium range-topper, has a fabric roof which can close in just 19 seconds.

Last night the Poland-England fixture had to be postponed when the Warsaw stadium roof was not closed despite torrential rain flooding the pitch.

Vauxhall moved quickly overnight to commission new LED advertising package in which it is stated:

The Cascada – A roof that can close in 19 seconds

“We always like to be proactive and tie together our car launches with our football sponsorship portfolio.

“This is a light-hearted campaign in which we can extol the virtues of the Cascada to a television audience of millions,” said Vauxhall Marketing Director Peter Hope.

Details of the new Cascada were unveiled today and  the car is due for launch in Q1 2013.

NFL Media Opportunities

The NFL returns to Wembley on the 28th of October for the International Series game between the St Louis Rams and the New England Patriots.

The sixth International Series game at Wembley and a chance for a capacity crowd to watch the best of the NFL action in the UK.

In the build up to the game we will have a number of media opportunities with players, coaches, former players and also the St Louis Rams cheerleaders.

If you would like to find out more please contact Aimee Preston - click here

Macesport are the retained PR agency for the NFL in the UK.

Irish Football Association Go for Precision

The Irish Football Association have today announced Precision as the first ever Official Training Aid supplier to the Northern Ireland football team.

In association with top local sports company Podium 4 Sport the ground-breaking partnership, which includes a three year agreement, is the first of its kind in Northern Ireland.

The new agreement will see Precision supply market-leading training equipment to all levels of the Irish Football Association from the national team through to the grass roots level of the game.

Former England Manager and Precision ambassador Graham Taylor was in Belfast to help launch the programme. Speaking at a coaching event at Belfast University hosted by the Irish FA and Precision, he said; “Training techniques and the equipment that is required has changed dramatically from my days as a player and a manager and they continue to innovate at a rapidly increasing rate and the partnership will help everyone stay ahead of the game.”

Read the full article - click here

Royal visit for St. George’s Park launch

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will open St. George's Park, The FA's new national football centre, next month it has been announced.

The Duke of Cambridge, who is the Honourary President of The FA, will officially launch the new national facility, which was completed in July.

The Royal Party will visit the Burton-upon-Trent site on Tuesday October 9, and join specially invited guests to celebrate the opening of the new home for the 24 representative England teams.

Local community figureheads and young players will meet the Royal Party, before they greet staff from The FA, Hilton Hotels and Spire Healthcare, who operate the three main facilities at St. George's Park.

They will then meet England Manager Roy Hodgson and his squad as they train at St. George's Park for the very first time ahead of their Euro 2012 qualification game against San Marino later that week. Hope Powell, England women’s senior team manager, will be joined by a number of her squad who will also meet Their Royal Highnesses as they tour the facility, including the community use pitches and Sport England pavilion, the Hilton and Hampton by Hilton Hotels and the Spire Perform rehabilitation centre.

FA Chairman David Bernstein said: "The opening of St. George's Park is truly a momentous occasion in the history of The FA. Next year we will celebrate The FA's 150th anniversary, and this moment will be recorded as significant as any that has gone before us in the last 149 years.

"We are particularly delighted that both the Duke and Duchess can join us to open this facility."

Chairman of St. George's Park David Sheepshanks added: "This is a wonderful reward for all of the people that have worked so hard to bring St. George's Park to reality. "The local community have embraced every aspect of St. George's Park and this will be a red letter day for Burton-upon-Trent and the surrounding locality."

Vauxhall drives deeper into FA partnership

Signifying the success to date of its sponsorship agreements with The FootballAssociation, leading vehicle manufacturer Vauxhall is broadening its partnership with the game’s governing body in this country.

An agreement has been concluded for Vauxhall to become the Official Automotive Supplier to St. George’s Park, the National Football Centre and new training home of the 24 representative England teams. The 330-acre St. George’s Park development is nearing being officially opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on October 9^th.

St. George’s Park will also be a national coach education, development and sports medicine centre for football, sport and business.

Vauxhall’s current agreements with The FA include the lead sponsorship of the 24 England teams and The FA’s Official Youth Partner, covering football played by 12-18 year-olds.

“We already have an exciting and successful partnership with The FA but see this expansion of our sponsorship to St. George’s Park as an important step in supporting The FA’s vision for the game of football. St. George’s Park will set a new benchmark for everything connected with English football and we are very proud to play our part,” says Chris Hornbuckle, Vauxhall’s Head of Sponsorship.

Sean McAuliffe, The FA’s Global Head of Business Development comments: “This new agreement with Vauxhall not only reflects the desire to expand our relationship to each other’s mutual benefit, but also the increasing attraction of St. George’s Park to the commercial sector. We are delighted that Vauxhall continues to support The FA in developing the future of the game in this country.”

Vehicles from across the Vauxhall range will be supplied to St. George’s Park, for visitors or for executive transfers and will also be used as staff cars. Vauxhall will also make extensive use of the site’s top-class Hilton hotel, conferencing and banqueting facilities.

The new Vauxhall agreement with St. George’s Park runs through to the summer of 2014.